is it really the indian and not the arrow?

hdgis1

New member
Is there such a thing as a beginners cue? Ggolfers know that cavity backs are easier to hit than blades. Is their any given shaft taper one could identify as easier to hit than another?
Chris
 
Indian...but would you like to be an indian with a nice looking arrow or one with a twig?

I think at a certain level of cue (around $100) to a high end custom cue (Tens of Thousands) there wouldn't be more than 5% IMO.
 
maybe it should be the archer or the arrow

Ever take a good look at modern archery equipment? They have more gadgets hung off of a bow than a '58 Caddy had chrome! The arrow they use is very high tech too, nothing simple about today's bows and arrows and they are tuned to a gnat's ass.

A good beginner stick would be 17.5 to 19.5 ounces with a 12.75 to 13MM shaft. I'd make it a low deflection shaft too, less variables for a beginning player to deal with.

An expert can make anything work but it is a lot easier for a beginner to learn with good equipment. One of the almost universal myths in all activities is that good equipment is wasted on someone that can't get maximum use from it. I have competed at many things and in most cases I started with good equipment. In some cases when I tried crap equipment later I wondered if I would have stayed with something long enough to reach a decent level had I started with poor equipment.

With cues I suggest trying to hit a half-dozen or dozen cues in the $750 to $1500 price range from quality builders, production and custom. If the cue you are considering buying doesn't hit as well as most of these then you are handicapping yourself buying it. A note, if you hit a dozen cues in the range I suggest you will find a couple of stinkers in the bunch most of the time. Price alone doesn't guarantee quality and sometimes name doesn't.

A beginner doesn't need fancy but they do need a cue that performs well and isn't too twitchy. The shaft size was chosen because it is more forgiving of minor errors than smaller shafts.

Hu
 
The difference between blades and cavity back irons is how the weight is distributed through the clubhead. A blade is more of an even distribution whereas the cavity back has its weight concentrated around the perimeter of the clubhead with less mass in the center.

So I think the correct analogy would be a standard shaft (even mass/weight distribution throughout) to a low-deflection shaft (more weight to the back of the shaft and less mass/weight in the front).

That said, it's still the Indian and not the arrow. Pro golfers can play equally well with either and pro pool players can shoot equally well with either. In both sports it all boils down to sponsorship and what they are paid to use/endorse.
 
Allyson and Earl played with a CueTech if that means anything? :shrug:

.

Earl also stated that Cuetech wrecked his game for that whole period.

The common sense answer is both. You need the Indian and the quality arrow to get peak performance. A world champ could possibly beat a bar hack with a broom stick but a world champion is not beating another world champ with a broomstick if that other pro is shooting with a quality cue.

Given equal Indians the arrow will play a big part in their respective success.
 
I know a guy that could make a stroke shot with a broom stick that only a handful of people could make with a cue stick. Does that answer your question about the indian or the arrow??

No. Actually it doesn't. In fact I would have expected something a bit more insightful from you. All your pointing out is that pros can play with anything. Nothing insightful there. I am asking if there are certain tapers/technologies better suited to the beginner.

Chris
 
The difference between blades and cavity back irons is how the weight is distributed through the clubhead. A blade is more of an even distribution whereas the cavity back has its weight concentrated around the perimeter of the clubhead with less mass in the center.

So I think the correct analogy would be a standard shaft (even mass/weight distribution throughout) to a low-deflection shaft (more weight to the back of the shaft and less mass/weight in the front).

That said, it's still the Indian and not the arrow. Pro golfers can play equally well with either and pro pool players can shoot equally well with either. In both sports it all boils down to sponsorship and what they are paid to use/endorse.

Yes pro golfers can play equally well with both. Although a blade is easier to work the ball with! The question I think that still needs to be answered is: can a beginner play equally well with both?.Chris
 
With cues I suggest trying to hit a half-dozen or dozen cues in the $750 to $1500 price range from quality builders, production and custom. If the cue you are considering buying doesn't hit as well as most of these then you are handicapping yourself buying it.

When I was getting back into pool three years ago, I couldn't have told you the difference between a good cue and a bad cue. I bought a Players for $70, put a Kamui tip on it, and played well enough with that for two years before moving up to a Predator. Seriously, the true beginner at pool has no idea how to tell if they're playing with good equipment.

I'd say start with $100 and/or a good tip, and once you get a stroke and a game start trying out higher end cues.
 
The answer to the beginner cue question is IMO low deflection shafts.

In effect a Predator us a cavity backed Callaway iron. Many of the straight grain maple shafts of custom cues are more your blade style, you can do more with them because of the deflection, but it takes more skill to control them.
 
Is there such a thing as a beginners cue? Golfers know that cavity backs are easier to hit than blades. Is their any given shaft taper one could identify as easier to hit than another?
Chris
I think that if the beginner is starting to put side spin on the ball, the style of cue they are using is very important to how they learn to play. I've seen beginners try to learn side spin with a 6-inch pivot point (that's a great deal of squirt). I think that's a bad way to start.

But to actually answer your question, no. I think that a beginner needs the same thing in a cue as an advanced player.
 
... Many of the straight grain maple shafts of custom cues are more your blade style, you can do more with them because of the deflection, but it takes more skill to control them.
Can you describe a shot that cannot be made with a low-squirt shaft?
 
A good beginner stick would be 17.5 to 19.5 ounces with a 12.75 to 13MM shaft. I'd make it a low deflection shaft too, less variables for a beginning player to deal with.

An expert can make anything work but it is a lot easier for a beginner to learn with good equipment. One of the almost universal myths in all activities is that good equipment is wasted on someone that can't get maximum use from it. I have competed at many things and in most cases I started with good equipment. In some cases when I tried crap equipment later I wondered if I would have stayed with something long enough to reach a decent level had I started with poor equipment.
Hu

This was my thinking when I started taking pool seriously back in 2006. I started out with a cheaper cue, but it wasn't long before I bought a high-end Lucasi followed closely by a nice Jacoby w/Predator 314's. I figured if I never succeeded at getting very good at the game (which I never did :embarrassed2:), I didn't want my equipment to be an easy excuse as to why I never improved. My current stable of pool cues are far superior to my playing abilities, but at least the cues are not the blame for my poor shooting. And.....I just like the feel of confidence a good cue gives me.

Maniac
 
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